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Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

We all like to think we are a lot stronger than we really are, but it doesn’t take very much to find out otherwise. It is easy to have great confidence when you are drawing from previous experience. But in those times when God leads you into uncharted territory, into situations and places you have never been before, faith and trust can be difficult to grasp. Knowing that God himself has gone before you and promises to walk with you through any circumstance is the difference between fear and faith.

God’s chosen people, the promise of Abraham, stood on the shores of the Red Sea. Led there by God to “display His glory” and remove any doubt that “I am the Lord” (Exodus 14:4). But the celebration of freedom was soon interrupted when the people of Israel looked up and panicked because Pharaoh and his army were overtaking them. (Exodus 14:10). So often we are moving through life, diligently following God, celebrating His goodness, when we find ourselves being overtaken by challenges and problems that appear out of nowhere and threaten to derail our lives. Like the Israelites, we cry out, Why God? Yet God’s response is the same as it was to Moses: “Stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today." After 400 years of captivity, the Israelites were struggling to be free of a slave mentality, believing everything was up to them. But God both moved behind them, blocking their past and the enemy’s advance, while opening the sea and their future before them. Just like the Israelites, your past does not define you, and God is going before you to clear the path into your future.

Déjà vu, except this time the enemy was in front, not behind them. The Israelites had been there before when twelve spies were sent into Canaan. Ten of them came back filled with fear and reports of giants, seeing themselves as mere grasshoppers. While two saw a land which God had promised long before, a land flowing with “milk and honey." Even though God had led them as a cloud by day and a fire by night, always going before them, feeding and caring for their every need, they withdrew in fear. Now forty years later, they were once again standing at the Jordan River, gazing across to the land of Canaan, which God had promised to Abraham generations before. Faced with the same decision, fear or faith, Moses reminded the Israelites of the true source of victory: the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you (Deuteronomy 31:8). With strength and courage, they crossed over and claimed what God had promised. Isaiah 45:2 promises, The Lord will go before you, making the crooked places straight and cutting through every barrier.

In a world where those who act sooner and faster seem to be more successful, the ideas of patience and waiting don’t seem to have a place. But the wisdom of the world is not the wisdom of God, and following the leadership of the Holy Spirit is about your willingness to wait and listen, knowing that he is going before you and preparing the way. Waiting and listening starts with encountering the nearness and goodness of your Heavenly Father. You aren’t meant to trust in a distant God. You are created to know personally the reality of your God and his love for you, placing your trust in him.

Our part... Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Walk with Him, listen for His still small voice and keep our eyes not on life’s giants but on His promises. A.W. Tozer stated, “While it may look like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who goes before us and has not surrendered His authority.”

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Gary and Sandy Anthony 

Isaiah 45:2-3 NIV I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Exodus 13:21-22 NIV By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Deuteronomy 1:30 NIV The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes.

2 Samuel 5:24 NLT When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, be on the alert! That will be the signal that the Lord is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.

Isaiah 52:12-13 TPT You will neither have to leave in haste, nor will you make a frantic escape, for your God, Yahweh, will go before you. He will lead you each step and be your rear guard. Look! My servant will prosper and succeed! He will be highly honored, raised up, and greatly exalted!

Psalms 136:16 TPT He led his people through the wilderness! His tender love continues forever!

Psalms 139:43-5 TPT You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence! You know every step I will take before my journey even begins. You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past. You have laid your hand on me!

Psalms 34:7-8 NLT For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

Psalms 125:1-2 TPT Those who trust in the Lord are as unshakable, as unmovable as mighty Mount Zion! Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord’s wraparound presence surrounds his people, protecting them now and forever.

Exodus 14:18-19 NIV The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them.

Psalms 33:20-22 NLT We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

Deuteronomy 20:4 NIV For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.

Exodus 33:14-16 The Lord said, I will go with you, and I will give you victory. How will anyone know that you are pleased with your people and with me if you do not go with us? Your presence with us will distinguish us from any other people on earth.

Romans 8:31 NLT If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

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